Hey Siri…How Can I Grow My Firm?
Remember when Siri first launched, and we all marveled at asking our phones basic questions?
Fast forward to today, and that same conversational-style interface is revolutionizing business and all of humankind’s relationship with knowledge, information, insight, and creation. In fact, you probably use it already (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, etc). Today, you can just ask a question on your laptop or phone in plain English, and it will leverage the ENTIRE INTERNET and human-like logic to return you a sourced, thoughtful, and helpful answer in seconds. But imagine something like Siri or ChatGPT for your business – a private AI Analyst who has total mastery of your firm, clients, and industry.
What if your firm had its own ChatGPT?
“Hey Siri…How can I grow my firm?”
It sounds incredible, but you can build this for your firm today. Right now.
You’ll ask: "Show me our top 10 most profitable clients from last quarter and identify similar prospects in our current pipeline."
Or ask, "What's the correlation between our response time to client inquiries and client retention rates?"
Better yet, ask, "Based on our historical data, which practice areas should we expand into next year?"
This isn't science fiction. Firms can now build and deploy secure Large Language Models (LLMs) that understand their specific context, data, and industry nuances. Think of it as having a brilliant analyst who knows every detail of your business and can answer complex questions instantly.
Breaking Down the Technology Barrier
One of the most important “lessons learned” from successful AI implementations is that professionals shouldn't need to become tech experts to leverage these tools. Your partners, associates, and staff shouldn't have to learn programming or data science to benefit from their tech. They should be able to interact with your firm's AI in the same way they “talk” to public AI tools already.
Some real-world applications could include:
Financial Analysis
"What's our average revenue per partner by service line compared to last year?"
"Which clients have unexplored cross-selling opportunities?"
"Identify my 10 best clients (based on XYZ criteria) and tell me what attributes they share"
Client Service
"Which clients haven't we contacted in the last 60 days?"
"What are the common characteristics of clients who left us last year?"
"Generate a report on client satisfaction trends by practice area"
Operations
"What's our current capacity utilization across departments?"
"Where are the bottlenecks in our client onboarding process?"
"Calculate the ROI on our recent technology investments"
Security and Privacy First
Your firm's data is your competitive advantage and a sacred trust. A private LLM ensures that your sensitive information never leaves your control. Unlike public AI tools, your firm's LLM is trained exclusively on your data, making it more secure and relevant to your specific needs.
The Future is Conversational
The firms that will thrive in the coming years are those that make their data immediate and actionable. Your own LLM can turn the massive amount of data your firm generates into a strategic asset – all through natural conversation.
Remember, the goal isn't to replace professional judgment but to enhance it. By giving your team instant access to insights and analysis, you're empowering them to make better decisions and serve clients more effectively.
The question isn't whether to implement your own LLM, but when. As competitors adopt these technologies, the ability to quickly access and act on business insights will become a crucial differentiator.
So, the next time you want to know how to grow your firm, you won't need to ask Siri – you'll have something much more powerful: your own LLM-based AI Analyst who knows your firm inside and out.
The future of professional services firms isn't about becoming technology companies – it's about using technology to be better at what you already do best: serving clients and growing your business. If you want to talk about how to get started, send me an email at bruce@chiefseconds.com
Bruce & Lefty